Finding New Someones
by emoeses
Summary: [AU!] Austin and Ally are each getting over a recent breakup, and while she doesn't feel ready to date just yet, he wants to fall in love for real, but is too lazy to search for the perfect girl. They reluctantly agree to go to a double date as a favor to their best friends and, meeting each other for the first time, realize that falling love might be easier than they remember.
1. i-iv

So I had this AU one shot idea and accidentally made it +7600 words long, so I'm splitting it into two chapters. Here's the first part, enjoy!

_I do not own Austin & Ally._

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**i.**

Ally Dawson used to be the one who believed in love at first sight. The one who daydreamed about the perfect guy, who fantasized about the big house with the white picket fence, kids chasing the dog in the yard, a grand piano in the living room and an old telescope in the attic. Her best friend Trish was much more rational and down-to-earth, and usually the one to pull her out of her fantasies and into real life.

That day though, for some reason, the roles seemed to have switched.

"I'm telling you, we're perfect for each other! Yeah, maybe he has red hair and is a little goofy, but we have _so_ much in common!"

"Like what?"

"Same favorite movie, same favorite number, same favorite show..."

Ally looked at her skeptically.

"What? Those kind of things are important!" objected Trish.

"Sure they are," Ally shook her head.

"Hey, that's not all! He's also from Miami, which means we won't have to fight about sport teams, and he wants to be a film director!" Trish continued, excited.

Ally frowned. "So? You don't even like recording things on your phone!" she pointed out.

"Yeah, but think about all the celebrities I'll get to meet once he becomes famous!"

She rolled her eyes. Typical Trish, putting her materialistic nature above everything else. "He _is_ your soulmate," she joked, then went back to reading her magazine, hoping that her comment would finally end the conversation.

"Why are you being so condescending? I thought you _loved_ love_,_" said Trish however, sitting on her bed.

"I do, usually... just not today."

"Why not today?"

"It's April 15th, I'll never love love on April 15th ever again."

"What, because of Elliot? Come on, Ally, you've been broken up for almost four months!"

Ally felt a little gush of pain hit her chest at the sound of his name. She'd spent all day trying—and failing—not to think about him.

"It would've been our third year anniversary! It's not like it's no big deal!" she insisted.

"So what? It's not like you were actually together for three years. You spent the past six months of the relationship breaking up every other week!" Trish remarked, ending the sentence with a groan.

"He was still my first love!" Ally protested, now visibly annoyed.

"Okay, you're right," surrendered Trish, "you have every reason to be cranky."

"Thank you."

Ally sighed, then picked up the magazine once again, quickly flipping through what she'd already read.

"So I guess you're not gonna like what I'm about to ask you right now."

Ally lowered her magazine slowly, sending Trish her deathliest gaze. Unfortunately, her best friend was used to her mood swings, and she hardly flinched at her discontent.

"Dez has this friend, and he was supposed to hang out with him tonight, but he invited me to come along."

Ally put a lot of effort into sounding menacing as she invited Trish to continue. "And...?"

"And we both don't want anyone to be a third wheel, so I said I would bring a friend as well."

"Let me get this clear, you want me to go on a double date on the day of my anniversary?"

"Well, technically it's not your anniversary if you're not together anymore..."

Ally covered her face with both hands, and for a second Trish feared that she'd gone too far. She knew better than anybody how important Elliot was for her best friend, how intense and marvelous and complicated their relationship had been. She had little experience with actual love, but she remembered how painful it had been breaking up with Trent. How heartbroken she felt when she'd ended things with Jace. Ally must've felt ten times worse, considering that Elliot had not only been her boyfriend for three years, but one of her oldest friends. It had taken her months to finally give up, and now she was putting her life back together, piece by piece. She could understand how hard it was.

But then again, she wasn't going out anymore. She'd stopped seeing most of her friends, and she'd stopped writing songs. She was enclosing herself in a bubble, far away from everyone and everything, not enjoying anymore the fact that she was in New York City and enrolled with a scholarship in her dream college. She needed to move on.

"Ally, look at me," Trish called her, pulling her hands off her face. "You need this."

"I need to help you get a new boyfriend?" her voice was broken and worried, but she didn't sound mad anymore.

"No, you need to go out and meet some new people."

"You mean get a new boyfriend?"

"Life is not just about boyfriends, sweetie! Life is about friends, having fun, hook ups! It's about moving on from painful things to enjoy new, wonderful ones."

The corners of Ally's lips curled upwards, but her eyes turned skeptic. Trish still decided to see it as a good sign.

"So, this guy is so important to you that you've improvised yourself a motivational speaker?" she asked, tilting her eyebrows.

"What gave me away?"

"I know Trish De La Rosa, and she'd never say anything that cheesy without an agenda."

Trish laughed, and Ally joined short afterwards. Then they hugged, without the need to say anything else. They both knew Trish was right, and they also knew she had her friend's interest in mind.

"Fine, I'll come," sighed Ally eventually, just before pulling out of the hug.

"Really? _Thankyouthankyouthankyou_!" Trish was so excited she hugged her again, harder.

"You're welcome," smiled Ally. "But I'm not gonna hook up with this guy," she quickly added, remembering part of Trish's previous speech.

"Oh, wait till you see him. He's H-O-T."

**ii.**

"So, this Ally girl. Is she cute?"

"Never saw her in my life."

Austin groaned. With his recent luck, the evening was not gonna be anything but boring. Dez flirting with his dream girl while he unsuccessfully tried to make small talk with her boring, probably annoyed friend. He should've just gone over to Brooke's apartment, like she'd asked him. Sure, she could be a little creepy, but she could also be sexy as hell, and he could've used a bit of fooling around. He doubted this girl would even flirt with him.

"Don't look so hopeless. Girls fall in love with you before you even open your mouth!" Dez reminded him.

"Yeah, well, I'm sick of that," blurted out Austin.

"Seriously?"

"Yes! I don't want girls to fall in love with the idea of me, I want them to want to get to know me. To like me for my personality, my quirks, my taste in music and stuff like that!"

"Is this about Kira?" asked Dez, suspiciously.

"Of course it's about Kira!" shouted back Austin.

"Okay, buddy. No need to get aggressive."

"Sorry," he sighed, "it's just—I really thought she'd be different."

"You mean, you really thought she'd be like Cassidy."

Austin looked at him, stunned, but found nothing but a knowing look on his best friend's face. Sometimes it surprised him how well they knew each other.

"No, I didn't-" he tried to deny it, but it was obvious even to him.

"I get it man, okay? First loves are hard to forget, and she was a great girl."

Austin sinked both hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, nodding slightly. He missed her. He missed everything about her. They hadn't seen nor talked to each other in over a year, currently living on opposite sides of the country. She in LA with her band, getting more famous by the minute; he in NYC, seriously considering breaking his parents' hearts and drop out of college to pursue his musical career full time. He wasn't unhappy, he just wished he had something else to be excited about other than music. Someone else, to be more precise. Someone who wasn't just a casual screw, but who he could actually care about.

The problem was that he was too lazy to look for her. That was why he hooked up with Brooke once in a while, why he flirted with random girls with no intention of things ever getting serious. He kinda wished she would find him, because he was horrible at searching for things, and also because so he could continue to be lazy.

"Here they come," Dez nudged his shoulder, awaking him from his brooding.

The girls had just emerged from the corner of the block and were now approaching them, laughing amongst themselves about something one of them had just said. As soon as they noticed them standing in front of the bar, the one he assumed was Trish raised her hand in greeting. Dez smiled and walked a few steps towards them. He and Trish hugged, both grinning, and Austin and Ally glanced at each other for the first time.

It was nothing movie like, as maybe he had hoped. She was very pretty and she looked like a nice girl, but it wasn't love at first sight, he didn't feel his heart skip a beat or anything like that. Maybe those things only really happened in fiction.

"Hi, I'm Ally Dawson," she said, stepping forward and extending her hand.

He took it, smiling. "Austin Moon, nice to meet you."

"You too," she glanced at Trish and Dez, still hugging, and loudly cleared her throat.

"Sorry," said the first, visibly blushing. "So, is this the famous bar?" she asked right after, pointing at the bright red sign above the window they where standing next to.

"Yep, best onion rings in New York City," winked Dez.

"And live music on Fridays," added Austin, excited.

"Sounds great," said Ally, and Trish nodded, beaming.

They awkwardly stood in front of the bar for a couple more seconds, none of them knowing whether to make the first step towards the entrance. It was Dez who eventually gestured the ladies to go first, and Austin rushed to open the door for them.

**iii.**

The place was nice, the band actually kinda good, and their booth not too close to the stage, so they didn't have to shout to make conversation. They ordered four beers and two portions of onion rings, with Trish asking for nachos because she "wasn't a fan of deep fried food."

They spent the first twenty minutes talking about the city and their favorite places, occasionally comparing it to Miami. It started with everyone contributing with stories and comments, but it eventually became a conversation between Trish and Dez alone, while Austin and Ally listened, munching on onion rings and sipping beer, both taking mental notes on their best friend's date and getting more skeptical by the minute about the future of the relationship. Dez seemed a bit too goofy and all over the place for Trish, who, on the contrary, was bossy and had very little patience. The two didn't seem to notice, though, and instead kept focusing on all the things they had in common.

When the conversation topic switched to "zaliens", Ally groaned.

"You don't like horror movies?" asked Austin, the only one who seemed to have noticed her displeasure.

"Not really. They're all about special effects, there's never any plot whatsoever, and the splatter kinda grosses me out," she explained, wincing, but actually kinda glad that she and Austin were actually starting a conversation of their own.

"Huh. I like them," he shrugged.

"Really?" she asked, tilting her eyebrows.

"Yeah! I mean, they have a bit of everything: action, suspense, mystery, romance-"

"Excuse me—romance?" she repeated, skeptically.

"Well, yeah. The main character always has a love interest of some sort," Austin pointed out.

"And by 'love interest' you mean some gorgeous, half naked actress, who has maybe ten lines in the whole movie?"

He stared at her half in shock, half absolutely terrified, having no idea about anything to say that wouldn't anger her or irritate her even more.

"What—what kind of movies do you like?" he decided to ask, nervously.

"Well, I'm a sucker for old movies," she admitted, "and I enjoy the occasional RomCom. I really like reading better, though."

Austin bit the inside of his cheek. So she was _that_ kind of girl. Smart, bookish, idealistic, maybe a bit naïve. The kind of girl who you're always scared to disappoint, around whom you can never say the first thing that pops into your mind. He didn't have anything against that kind of girls, but they weren't usually his type. He liked fun, adventurous, and easy-going girls.

He started to suspect that the date wouldn't end well.

"Cool," he smiled awkwardly.

"So, are you in movie school like Dez?" Ally asked, before taking a sip of her beer.

"No, I go to NYU. Junior year."

"I'm a junior too!"

"What's your major? English?" he guessed.

"No, I go to MUNY, actually."

He almost choked on his onion ring. He didn't expect her to be into music at all, for some reason.

"You're a musician?" he asked, a bit of amazement still on his face.

"I've played piano for as long as I can remember, and I know my way around a bunch of other instruments as well. My dad owns a music store," she explained.

"Really?"

"Yes, back in Miami. It's called _Sonic Boom._"

"Hey, I think I know it! In the Mall of Miami, right? I love that place!" Austin exclaimed.

Ally smiled. "You're into music as well?"

"It's only my _life_," he answered, and she felt her cheeks heating up for no apparent reason.

"Do you play any instruments?" she asked, eagerly.

"Guitar, piano, drums, bass... I can even play a trumpet through another trumpet," he proudly declared. "I sing too. I'm actually about to sign a deal with Starr Records."

"No way! So you're almost a celebrity," she observed enthusiastically.

"If I can record a successful demo with original songs I will. The label has tried to pair me up with a couple of songwriters, but so far I haven't found a fit," he explained, now a little less excited.

Ally nodded, understanding. She knew how hard songwriting could be. She herself hadn't been able to write anything since her breakup.

"Guys, we're hitting the dance floor," announced Trish, getting up from the table and taking the hand Dez was extending.

"Sounds fun!" laughed Austin. "Wanna join them?" he asked Ally hopefully, a second later.

She awkwardly pursed her lips. "I'd rather not, actually. I'm not a great dancer."

"Oh," he looked disappointed, and she mentally cursed her uncoordinated self. They'd actually started to have a good time together, and now they were back to uncomfortable silence.

They both stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, struggling to find something to say, until Austin downed what was left of his beer in desperation and stood up.

"I'm gonna go get another one. Do you want one too?" he asked.

Ally looked at her still half full bottle. "I'm good, thanks," she smiled.

Austin nodded, then headed for the bar, shuffling through the crowd.

Ally sighed. He seemed like a really nice guy, and he was really cute as well, but she suspected that music was the only thing they had in common. She took the last onion ring from the plastic basket and lazily dipped it in the ketchup, feeling a bit hazy for no real reason. She scanned the room as she chewed the fried vegetable, not looking for anything in particular until a girl on the dance floor caught her attention. She was wearing a tight pink dress that showed her gorgeously tanned legs and had blond hair that went on for miles. She looked nice enough, Ally wasn't really the type to judge a girl just from her outfit or level of sobriety. She could've been a waitress or a Columbia grad student or both, for all she knew. It wasn't the length of her dress that upset her, nor her model-like features.

It was the fact that she was making out with Elliot. Her ex boyfriend, the love of her life.

She felt suddenly sick to her stomach, dropped the ketchup smeared onion ring back in its basket, and made a bee line to the door, tears already blurring her vision.

**iv.**

Austin came back to find the booth empty, but Ally's purse still on her seat. Figuring she'd gone to the bathroom or something like that, he sat down and started sipping his beer.

He wasn't really having the worst time. Ally was pretty cool, he just wished they'd found more things they had in common than just music. Or maybe they just needed to talk some more, hang out and get used to each other's differences. That, though, sounded like it would take time he wasn't really sure he had. He was kinda hoping for a perfect fit, and kinda wanted it to happen as soon as possible.

He groaned, once he realized how utopian his thoughts sounded. How lazy he was for wishing for the fastest way to the happy ending. He was willing to work when it came to his music, why wasn't he like that with girls as well? Why didn't he feel excited about the idea of getting to know someone slowly, falling in love little by little? For the past months, all he'd wanted was to fall in love again, to get what he'd had with Cassidy, what he'd come close to with Kira. For the past months, he'd surrendered before even trying, opting for one night stands and occasional hookups instead. It probably wasn't really healthy.

"Hey, where's Ally?" asked Trish, sitting back down followed by a very out-of-breath Dez. They both had red cheeks and sweaty foreheads.

"No idea," Austin shrugged, "I went to get another beer and she was gone when I came back. She's probably in the bathroom," he suggested.

"The line's pretty long from what I've seen, that's probably what's taking her so long," added Dez, nodding.

Trish seemed to agree with the hypothesis, but she looked around anyway. The bar was getting more crowded by the minute, but she didn't catch any glimpse of the red dress Ally was wearing. She did however catch a glimpse of someone else who looked way too familiar.

"Shit," she cursed, grabbing her own purse from her seat.

"What's wrong?" asked Dez, frowning.

"You see that guy over there, dancing with the tall blonde?" asked Trish, pointing at Elliot on the dance floor.

"Yeah. Who is he?"  
"Ally's ex boyfriend of two and a half years."

"Oh," said Dez, his face paling.

Austin shifted uncomfortably, sending another glance at the guy, who seemed completely oblivious to the attention he was receiving from the end of the dance floor. He seemed like an okay dude, more or less their age, though it was difficult to tell from so far away, when the lights were dimmed and the room crowded. Good looking, not very tall. That was all he was able to gather, not enough to decide anything about him nor understand why Ally had been his girlfriend for over two years.

"We need to find her," Trish was saying in the meantime.

"She left her purse here, so she must still be around," suggested Austin.

They gathered their stuff and started walking towards the exit. Once outside, they didn't have to look very far to find her. She was standing with her back against the building wall, hugging herself with both arms, though it was impossible to say if it was for warmth or an attempt to stop her body from shaking. She was crying and not even trying to hide it. Loud sobs broke from her chest and escaped from her lips, while tears streamed down her cheeks and dribbled from her chin.

Trish hurried by her side while Austin and Dez stayed back, looking at each other awkwardly.

"Pretty interesting night, huh?" said Dez, showing the hint of a smirk.

"You can say that again," sighed Austin.

"At least my date is not crying."

"Give her a couple more hours."

Dez elbowed Austin in the ribs while he chuckled, then they both turned back to the girls. Trish had an arm around Ally's waist and was combing strands of hair off her face. Ally had stopped sobbing, but her arms were still pressed tightly around her torso. Austin stepped forward sheepishly.

"Here, you should put this back on," he said sweetly, handing her the black jean jacket she'd left inside. Ally took it with a weak smile.

"Thanks."

Dez approached as well. "Do you guys want us to walk you home?" he asked.

Trish bit her lip and looked at Ally, who was shaking her head as she pulled the first sleeve over her arm.

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry about this, I'm such a mess," she laughed and started drying her cheeks with her hands.

"Don't worry, we get it," smiled Austin. Dez nodded.

"I'm fine with going wherever," assure Ally. "Just maybe not back in there?"

The other three laughed, and Trish squeezed her arm reassuringly.

"How about we go hang out at our apartment? We have an awesome TV and we can order a pizza."

"Sounds great!" Trish nodded enthusiastically.

Austin agreed as well, and Ally seemed okay with following the group, so they started walking towards the subway station. Austin kept close to his date, sending her occasional worried looks. She felt her cheeks warm every time.


	2. v-vi

Thank you all so much for the reviews and the support! Here's part two, which, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear, has much more Auslly in it.

_I do not own Austin & Ally, nor the lyrics of Counting Stars by OneRepublic._

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**v.**

Ally'd expected the boys' apartment to be smaller, seen their age and the fact they were both still in college. It was actually quite spacious, though incredibly messy. The living room was huge and one side of it was almost completely made of windows that gave an amazing view of the city outside. They had a long red couch in front of an HD television that looked almost too big. There was no dining table but a foosball one, she guessed a tribute to Joey and Chandler's apartment from _Friends_. Against the back of the couch was an old keyboard and a guitar rested against the wall. She counted three doors, which probably led to the guys' bedrooms and the bathroom.

Clothes, CDs and magazines lay on pretty much every piece of furniture, and there was a tower of old pizza boxes next to the front door.

"Wow," said Trish, picking up a crumpled up tee shirt from the couch handle.

"Sorry about the mess," apologized Austin, rubbing the back of his neck. "We didn't really think we'd have guests tonight."

"Not that I would've made much of a difference," admitted Dez smugly, with a shrug.

Austin shot him a dirty look and Trish tried to cover her grimace with a smile. She let the shirt fall back on the couch and headed towards the big TV in front of it.

"This place is really cool," said Ally in the meantime, taking a few steps in the direction of the modern-looking kitchenette.

"Thanks. My aunt works in real estate, she found it for us," explained Austin, following her.

"It must cost you a fortune," she guessed, running her fingers on the stone surface of the counters. There was a very big sink that was unexpectedly clear of dishes. She guessed their diet consisted mostly in takeout.

"Not really, actually. The neighborhood is not the safest and the people living upstairs throw the loudest parties. The owner's had troubles renting it for years."

Ally frowned. "Don't the loud parties bother you?"

"Are you kidding? They're super fun! We're their favorite guests," he winked and she laughed.

"So, shall we order the pizza?" asked Trish.

"Actually, the best pizza place ever is just two blocks away. It's much faster if we go pick it up there," said Austin.

"Trish and I will go," announced Dez.

"Excuse me?" she protested, looking annoyed. "We just got here and you expect me to walk two blocks in these shoes in a dangerous neighborhood?"

"I—I just thought we could spend some time alone and—and make out while they make the pizza," stammered Dez, blushing.

"Oh," smirked Trish, "well, okay then," she shrugged and pulled her jacket back on.

Dez opened the door for her. "You two behave, we'll be right back," he shouted, right before leaving.

Ally and Austin looked at each other. They had the same weirded out expression on their faces, and they both smiled realizing it. The silence in the room became awkward pretty quickly.

"Mind if I use the bathroom?" asked Ally suddenly. "My face must be a mess. Crying and makeup don't make the best combination," she explained, pointing at her eyes with a goofy smile.

"Sure, go ahead. It's over there," he answered.

Ally thanked him and opened the door he'd pointed to, then closed it behind her. She turned on the light and stepped in front of the mirror to verify the conditions of her face. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as she'd thought. She had a few dark streaks running on her cheeks that were not too visible, and the mascara had smeared right under her eyes. She damped a piece of toilet paper and started wiping the makeup stains away, trying not to take it off where it still looked good enough. Once finished, she took the compact makeup from her purse and tried as best as she could to even out her skin tone. She put a new coat of lipgloss as a finishing touch, then she tried to give a little more volume to her curls using her hands.

She didn't really know why she was even bothering to look nice. She doubted Austin had any hopes left for the evening after seeing her sob hysterically in the middle of the street. She groaned at herself and her lack of self control. Seeing Elliot with another girl had been just as painful as breaking up with him had, but it'd also opened her eyes to the fact that it had been a long time since they'd broken up, and she owed it to herself to try and move on. She couldn't mourn that part of her life forever, he clearly agreed and had found someone else, and now she desperately wanted to do the same.

When she walked back into the living room, Austin was picking up clothes from the couch and the floor. He stopped when he saw her.

"Everything okay?" he asked, with a sheepish smile.

"Yep, not as bad as I'd pictured it," she answered.

"Cool. You look nice," he said, and she could've sworn she'd seen him blushing for a second.

"Need some help?" she asked, pointing at the ball of clothes in his arm.

"I'm just making a bit more room to sit. And walk."

Ally laughed and, without any more words, started picking things off the floor as well. She handed a pair of jeans to Austin, then started stacking some of the magazines on top of the coffee table. Soon enough, a bright yellow folder that had been abandoned on the couch caught her eye. She picked it up, knowing very well she was snooping but not caring particularly. The words "_original demos_" had been scribbled on it in black marker.

"What's this?" she asked out loud.

Austin let the clothes fall into a big laundry basket and turned towards her. He couldn't tell what it was she was holding right away, so he stepped closer.

"Oh, those are some of the songs the label sent me. I should pick three for my demo," he explained.

Ally opened the folder and started to flip through the pages, frowning.

"They're not very good, I know," sighed Austin.

"'_The mayonnaise on your balloni'_? Seriously?"

"That's not even the worst one."

"Jeez, what kind of songwriters do they hire?"

"I think they keep all the good ones for the real stars. I'm just some kid wannabe," Austin bit his tongue. He'd never told that to _anyone_, not even Dez or his parents. He was usually really confident around pretty much everybody. He looked at her, regretting his confession. He didn't wanna sound like some loser who felt sorry for himself. He was about to sign with a label, for crying out loud. There were plenty of singers who had it much worse.

"What? No you're not," she argued.

"You've never even heard me sing," he pointed out, half laughing. He was flattered nonetheless.

"Let's hear it then!" she exclaimed, poking his arm jokingly. He looked at her like she was crazy for a second and she rolled her eyes. "Com'on, I don't have all night!" she urged.

"Fine," he groaned, his smile letting out that his annoyance was totally fake. "Any requests?"

"Surprise me," she said suggestively, her eyebrows going up. She sat on the couch and smoothed her dress with both hands as he picked up the guitar and strummed it for a second, trying to think of a song. Lyrics started to fill his mind quickly, and before he could remember the title he was already playing the chords.

"_I feel something so wrong doing the right things_

_And I feel something so right doing the wrong things_

_I could lie, could lie could lie-_"

"_Everything that kills me makes me feel alive_," sang Ally suddenly, interrupting him.

He looked at her surprised, a huge smile on his face. She blushed, but got up and closed a fist in front of her mouth, pretending to hold a microphone.

"_Lately I been, I been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard_

_Said no more counting dollars_

_We'll be counting stars_

_Yeah, we'll be counting stars,_" they sang together, both goofily dancing around and jumping, pretending to be on a stage. At the end of the chorus, Ally let herself fall on the couch again and started clapping. Austin was still too amazed to notice.

"You're really good!" he said.

"Hey, that was gonna be my line," she joked.

"I'm serious! Have you ever thought about a singing career?" he asked, setting his guitar down.

"Only in my wildest dreams," she answered melancholically. He frowned and she sighed. "I've always wanted to be a singer, perform my songs on a stage in front of a thousand people," she admitted, "but I could never do that."

"Why?" he asked softly.

"Stage fright," she looked at him for a second, then lowered her gaze, embarrassed. "It was worse when I was in high school, now at least I can play piano in school. But I've never been able to perform in recitals and stuff like that."

"That's crazy. You're _so_ talented, what could go wrong?"

Ally rolled her eyes, annoyed. "I know it's not rational. It's a fear, it doesn't have to be, okay?"

"Okay," he raised his hands defensively. She hugged her frame with both arms and turned her head.

He waited a few seconds in silence, wondering if perhaps he should change the subject. There was one more question still itching his brain.

"So you write songs? Would you mind playing me one?" he asked carefully, almost innocently.

She turned to face him, looking weary.

"I won't make any comment at all, if you don't want me to," he hurriedly promised.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she got up and walked towards the keyboard, not really knowing why she was complying with his request. She sat down and stared at the black and white keys, and the only song that came to her mind was one she'd written years ago. She felt her heart racing twice its regular speed and every breath she took seemed to not give her enough oxygen to think. Her hands were shaking while hovering over the keys. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down, deciding that not thinking was perhaps the better option. She started playing the chords she knew by heart, singing along to them words that were still fresh in her mind in spite of the long time that had passed since she'd written them. The song was called _Double Take_ and she remembered performing it to an empty room over and over again during her high school years, in the practice room of her dad's music store. It was the song she used to keep her dreams alive. Dreams that now seemed further away than they'd ever been.

She focused on the movements of her fingers and quickly forgot that she was playing for Austin, so when the song ended and she realized he was standing behind her she almost jumped.

"That was really good," he said, excited.

"But?" she asked, sensing the unfinished thought.

Austin hesitated for a moment before continuing. "If you really want to make it great, you should speed it up."

Ally tilted her head, trying to understand what he meant.

"Like this," he cleared his voice. "_They wanna know know know my name name name_

_I'm gonna make make make them do a double take,_" he sang the lyrics at a faster pace, and Ally's face had lit up by the time he stopped.

"That's great!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together and standing up. "Hey, you should record this for your demo!" she suggested right after.

"Are you serious?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah! It's totally your style!"

Austin laughed softly. "We've known each other for a few hours and you can already tell what my style is?"

"Sure I can. I'm good at reading people," she winked, laughing herself.

"You are, huh?" he asked, getting a bit closer without really thinking about it. "So, what am I like?"

"Confident, driven, _messy_," she paused to gesture at the room and Austin chuckled. "Not really into smart things and athletic, judging by the muscles," her breath got caught in her throat as she realized just how close he'd gotten. She lowered her gaze from his face to the general direction of his abs. "_Bold_," she whispered, and then watched their fingers bump into each other, felt the heat of his skin for the very first time.

"You're forgetting handsome," he smirked.

"That's because it's not a personality trait," she objected. "But I should add cocky."

Austin laughed softly. Their fingers intertwined and he brushed a strand of hair off her cheek with his free hand. She blushed and looked for his eyes again. When she found them, he was already leaning in.

It had all happened too fast for her to elaborate it. A few minutes ago she was offering him her song, and now they were about to kiss, and the in between was confused and blurry and she was forgetting about it already. She wasn't really sure if it was all happening too fast, but she wanted the kiss. Her body was drawn to his and the feeling was overwhelming. She pressed her lips against his, and for a handful of seconds neither of them moved, as if they were too scared to. They separated for a moment, felt their breaths blend in the little space between them, then he kissed her again, his hand now dipped in her soft curls, feeling her soft skin against his, getting lost in her smell.

If upon first meeting her he hadn't felt anything in particular, now his heart was beating so strong he feared that his chest was gonna burst open. He couldn't quite put a finger on when exactly, during the course of the evening, his feelings had shifted. Perhaps it had happened too slowly for him to notice, or maybe what he was feeling was just admiration. He didn't really like her, he liked her talent, he liked that she'd offered to give him her song. He stepped back as if he'd just been burned, watched her stumble back into reality with a lost expression, her brow wrinkled and her lips still slightly parted.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly.

Just little over an hour ago she'd been crying over another guy, and kissing her without even being sure about his feelings felt like taking advantage. He turned and walked towards the couch to sit down. She stood were she was and her right hand moved to briefly touch her lips. She didn't know what to think. Had the kiss not felt good to him? Had she done something wrong?

"You are upset about that guy, and I just made a move. It wasn't cool."

Ally bit her lip. She walked over to the couch as well and sat next to him, not really sure what to say. Dismissing the fact that she'd been upset earlier would make her seem shallow and fake, but the fact was that she hadn't been thinking about Elliot at all while they were kissing, just because his presence was so overwhelming. She was also sure she hadn't gotten over Elliot yet. It still hurt to think about him and that other girl, but now other things seemed more important.

"It's fine," she said, sheepishly.

He looked at her, suddenly she seemed so tiny. Maybe he shouldn't have brought up her ex. Maybe he should just be honest. "I'm also getting over a breakup," he admitted.

"Really?"

"It was just starting to get serious, when I realized that she didn't really know or love _me_, just this image she'd constructed," he sighed. "I don't know if that makes sense."

"It does," she assured him, resting her hand on his knee.

"I've only been in love once, when I was in high school, and she was as close to perfection as I've ever gotten. She moved to Los Angeles, and I've never found anyone like her."

Ally looked down on her lap. Elliot had been her only serious boyfriend. She'd had crushes on other guys before she got with him, but had never really had a relationship with anyone else. Now that it was over, the last thing she wanted was to find someone else just like him. She didn't want a replacement for Elliot, she wanted someone new, someone refreshing. Someone that could challenge her in the right ways and someone she could fight different fights with. It probably was because the ugly end of their relationship was still so fresh in her mind. She'd had months to fall out of love with him and sure, she still missed him, but she'd never want to get back together with him.

"Maybe you're not looking for the right things," she suggested, carefully.

He looked at her, eyebrows knit together. "What does that mean?"

"I know I have no idea what your ex girlfriend is like, and I'm sure you were madly in love with her, but if you keep looking for her photocopy, you're just gonna be disappointed," she observed. "No one is gonna be like her, but I'm sure there are plenty of girls who are gonna be just as awesome as she was, just in different ways."

Austin felt the corners of his lips lift in a tiny smile. She had wisdom in her eyes, how had he not noticed that before?

"You just have to narrow it down to someone you feel comfortable with and spend time with them, get to know them better. If the attraction doesn't fade away, love will come on its own." He nodded, then covered her hand still on his knee with his. She blushed. "Gosh, I'm giving out relationship advice and I can't even get my own love life together," she groaned.

"It was good advice," he assured her.

"Wow, good advice _and_ a song. I was pretty generous tonight, wasn't I?" she joked, trying to cover the fact that she was freaking out about their hands still being linked together. His index finger started stroking patterns across the back of her hand.

"How could I ever return the favor?" he asked softly, almost suggestively.

She kissed him again, taking him by surprise. He squeezed her fingers and got a bit closer, with no intention of letting her go this time. He opened his mouth and let his tongue graze her lower lip, and she put a hand against his chest, casually letting it slide down until she could feel his abs through the fabric of his shirt. She smirked into the kiss: she'd definitely gotten the 'athletic' part right. As their tongues met for the first time, he put a hand behind her back and gently shifted their positions, so that he was above her and her shoulders rested against the arm of the couch.

"So I'm guessing you're okay now," she giggled when his lips left hers to graze the curve of her neck. Austin smiled and propped himself up enough to look her in the eyes.

"Let's just say, I think I found someone I want to 'get to know better,'" he smirked, quoting what she'd said earlier.

She blushed and held his gaze, her smile fading into a deeper expression that he found incredibly hot. He thought back on his expectations of the date, and decided that the turn of events had definitely been for the better. He bit his lower lip, getting closer once again, and just the sight of that made heat spread all over her body. She'd never felt such a level of chemistry with anyone, making out with him felt like being on fire... in a good way, of course.

Things would've probably kept progressing fast, if not for the click of the door opening a few minutes later. They had time to separate and not much else, but thankfully Trish seemed to angered to notice the messy hair, lipstick stains, and out of place clothing.

"Get your stuff, Ally, we're going home," she ordered loudly.

"What happened?" asked Austin, quickly fastening the buttons of his shirt that had come undone.

"He tried to get me to ask for _mushrooms _on our pizza!" she yelled in a scandalized tone.

"Mushrooms are much better than _pepperoni_," replied a very annoyed Dez.

"How could you say that?! What IDIOT likes mushrooms?"

"I like 'em," Ally shrugged quietly. Only Austin heard her, however, and hid a laugh behind his hand.

"For your information, mushrooms are healthier," insisted Dez.

"Says the guy who says marshmallow-salmon panini is his favorite food in the world!" growled Trish.

"Guys!" called Ally from the couch. "You were so excited about this date! Are you seriously gonna throw it all away because of a pizza topping?" she asked in disbelief.

"It's not just that! First she likes pepperoni, then she doesn't want to get it delivered because she thinks we don't get out enough. But sometimes I'm tired and I just wanna watch TV!" shouted Dez.

"You're the moron who made me walk two blocks to get the pizza in the first place!" screamed back Trish.

Austin and Ally looked at each other. "Guess our date is over," he sighed.

"It was fun while it lasted," she said, covering his hand with hers. He smiled.

"Give me your phone," he urged.

She got up to take her purse and put it in the hand he'd just extended. He took a selfie, quickly typed something in and gave it back to her with a smile less than a minute later.

"Now you have my number," he announced.

She looked at the winking picture next to his name and laughed, then she pressed the call button. Austin phone started buzzing from his pocket, and she ended the call before he could answer.

"And you have mine," she said sweetly.

He leaned in for another kiss, but Trish grabbed Ally's wrist before their lips could touch.

"Com'on, I wanna go home," she barked.

Ally sent Austin an apologetic smile and let her best friend drag her away. She waved goodbye before disappearing behind the door, and Austin fell back on the couch with a stupid, blissful smile on his face.

**vi.**

"That _doofus_. I can't believe I actually thought I liked that guy!" snarled Trish as they stepped onto the train. It was almost completely empty, with the exception of a couple making out towards the end.

Ally sighed and decided to study the station list one more time instead of answering. They had to wait six stops, then get out and change lines. The comfort of her bed had never seemed so far away, but at least it was the weekend and she didn't have classes to worry about the next day.

She sat on one of the empty seats and started rubbing her left temple with her index finger, as Trish went on about how she should've expected Dez to be a mushroom lover. She had to admit she was doing her best not to laugh. Her best friend could be unbelievable at times.

"Well, at least tonight wasn't a bust for both of us," sighed Trish suddenly, poking Ally's side.

"What?" croaked the latter.

"Don't pretend like nothing happened! Did you seriously think I wouldn't notice the lipstick all over Austin's face?"

Ally turned purple as she covered her lips with her hand. Trish started laughing.

"I thought you weren't ready to move on yet!" she teased.

"I was wrong, apparently," Ally sheepishly admitted.

"Well, I'm happy for you. You two look like you'd make a cute couple."

Ally was about to answer when she heard her phone chime from her purse. She took it out and found an incoming text from Austin.

_04/16 0:24AM _

_Thinking about you._

A smile bloomed on her lips, her heart beating so hard she was almost sure she could hear it. She giggled and pressed her phone against her chest.

"Yeah, I think we would."

* * *

I hope you liked it! 3

PS- I've been working on a long fic that I'm probably gonna start posting sometime soon. I've written eight chapters so far, and I just need to make sure to continue at a steady pace. Exams are coming up, though, so it might be a while. Anyway, be sure to check my account if you're interested! xx


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